Author: Lauren DeStefano
Format Acquired: Hardcover
Publication Date: October 1 2013
Publishing House: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781442480612
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked
Summary:
On Internment, the floating island in the clouds where 16-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives, getting too close to the edge can lead to madness. Even though Morgan's older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows to never end up like him. She tries her best not to mind that her life is orderly and boring, and if she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in best friend Pen and betrothed, Basil.
Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially when she meets Judas. He is the boy being blamed for the murder - betrothed to the victim - but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find - or who she will lose.
Review:
Lauren DeStefano books always have amazing covers. Remember the Chemical Garden trilogy and their gorgeous book jackets? Those were damn pretty. So I guess it's safe to say I bought this book based on the cover alone - it was totally worth it, friends.
Recently I've been plagued with this really nasty reading slump, I started a lot of books but I couldn't finish them, and Perfect Ruin along with this other book was able to pull me from my funk. And I swear, after reading a slew of books that were 3 rainbows at best I was dying, deprived. I needed something good. Something that would make me want to paint my nails (4 rainbows pls omg). A book that I could read late into the night non-stop. This book was just what I needed.
Morgan Stockhour lives on Internment - a floating island in the clouds where people are warned to stay away from the edge because the edge brings madness. Case in point: her brother. After he jumped, Morgan was determined to not follow in his footsteps although she has imagined what's there to see over the edge. When someone gets murdered and Morgan chances upon the supposed murderer - Judas - she can't help but investigate and the secrets she unveils reveals a darker side to her supposedly perfect society.
First off, what I really loved about Perfect Ruin was the world-building. DeStefano is not afraid of details and I love it. She has managed to build Internment to be equal parts interesting and foreboding. And as I read the book and learned all about Internment, which is fascinating by the way, I got this sense of something darker that lurks beneath it's seemingly pristine surface. I just love it when the world-building is done beautifully and I just want to say that DeStefano did a really, really, really good job with this one.
What I couldn't help but adore, also, was the writing. It's so lyrical and poetic but doesn't come off as holier-than-thou and it doesn't sound forced. Now, I don't usually mark my books with post-its and the likes but I couldn't help it with Perfect Ruin. My copy is seriously overflowing with yellow post-its.
Characters. DeStefano has seriously great characters and before I get into Morgan and Basil - cue swooning - I just want to get into the side characters for a bit. Perfect Ruin has seriously well developed side characters and I like how the author manages to seamlessly integrate them into the story. I mean they're not for show and I found Morgan's relationship with every one of them - no matter how strained - so darn real.
Morgan. She's a dreamer and her character starts off a little soft and naive. I mean I like headstrong, brash, uncouth characters and Morgan was a change of pace for me. It's hard not to feel for a character who's easy to relate to and just...real. I seriously adored her and Basil. He acts like this silent, giant pillar of support for Morgan. He's kind and good and protective and big and strong and....yeah. He's perfect. And, unlike other male YA characters who need girls to fall at their feet and act like a jerk to assert their dominance and alpha male status, Basil doesn't need all that. Perfection, right there.
Four rainbows! You guys don't know how good it feels to give another book four rainbows. I mean, awesome world-building, characters I couldn't help but adore and this plot that's all twisty and turny and how can I not like this book? You guys should really pick this one up.
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked
Summary:
On Internment, the floating island in the clouds where 16-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives, getting too close to the edge can lead to madness. Even though Morgan's older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows to never end up like him. She tries her best not to mind that her life is orderly and boring, and if she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in best friend Pen and betrothed, Basil.
Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially when she meets Judas. He is the boy being blamed for the murder - betrothed to the victim - but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find - or who she will lose.
Review:
Lauren DeStefano books always have amazing covers. Remember the Chemical Garden trilogy and their gorgeous book jackets? Those were damn pretty. So I guess it's safe to say I bought this book based on the cover alone - it was totally worth it, friends.
Recently I've been plagued with this really nasty reading slump, I started a lot of books but I couldn't finish them, and Perfect Ruin along with this other book was able to pull me from my funk. And I swear, after reading a slew of books that were 3 rainbows at best I was dying, deprived. I needed something good. Something that would make me want to paint my nails (4 rainbows pls omg). A book that I could read late into the night non-stop. This book was just what I needed.
Morgan Stockhour lives on Internment - a floating island in the clouds where people are warned to stay away from the edge because the edge brings madness. Case in point: her brother. After he jumped, Morgan was determined to not follow in his footsteps although she has imagined what's there to see over the edge. When someone gets murdered and Morgan chances upon the supposed murderer - Judas - she can't help but investigate and the secrets she unveils reveals a darker side to her supposedly perfect society.
First off, what I really loved about Perfect Ruin was the world-building. DeStefano is not afraid of details and I love it. She has managed to build Internment to be equal parts interesting and foreboding. And as I read the book and learned all about Internment, which is fascinating by the way, I got this sense of something darker that lurks beneath it's seemingly pristine surface. I just love it when the world-building is done beautifully and I just want to say that DeStefano did a really, really, really good job with this one.
What I couldn't help but adore, also, was the writing. It's so lyrical and poetic but doesn't come off as holier-than-thou and it doesn't sound forced. Now, I don't usually mark my books with post-its and the likes but I couldn't help it with Perfect Ruin. My copy is seriously overflowing with yellow post-its.
Characters. DeStefano has seriously great characters and before I get into Morgan and Basil - cue swooning - I just want to get into the side characters for a bit. Perfect Ruin has seriously well developed side characters and I like how the author manages to seamlessly integrate them into the story. I mean they're not for show and I found Morgan's relationship with every one of them - no matter how strained - so darn real.
Morgan. She's a dreamer and her character starts off a little soft and naive. I mean I like headstrong, brash, uncouth characters and Morgan was a change of pace for me. It's hard not to feel for a character who's easy to relate to and just...real. I seriously adored her and Basil. He acts like this silent, giant pillar of support for Morgan. He's kind and good and protective and big and strong and....yeah. He's perfect. And, unlike other male YA characters who need girls to fall at their feet and act like a jerk to assert their dominance and alpha male status, Basil doesn't need all that. Perfection, right there.
Four rainbows! You guys don't know how good it feels to give another book four rainbows. I mean, awesome world-building, characters I couldn't help but adore and this plot that's all twisty and turny and how can I not like this book? You guys should really pick this one up.
Rating:
"Novel Nails" is a feature of the blog that showcases nail art inspired by books and their covers. Nail art will be created by either Michelle or Nicole and will be featured alongside their reviews.
This books has such a pretty cover I couldn't resist doing nail art for it.
Nail polish used:
Black: Orly Liquid Vinyl
White: acrylic paint
Red(for the undersides): China Glaze Salsa
Hardcovers are so pretty.
This is my thumb, I took inspiration from the gears and branches on the book jacket and painted it on my nail using a sakura brush and for the thinner lines I used a needle.
The rest of my nails. Gears and branches on my index, ring and pinkie. On my middle finger I have a lantern.
Do I match with the book?
Closer look at my index and middle fingers. Gears, branches and lanterns.
Another shot of my nails.
My nails with the book.
So for those of you who have long nails, have you ever painted on the undersides? I painted mine red so my nails don't feel so monochromatic.
Yes? No? Do I match with the book? What do you guys think?
For more book-related nail art considered checking out my instagram account @nicolereadsbooks and follow @thetwinsread to stay updated. Don't forget to tag us if you consider recreating this nail art or just nail art in general. I'm totes gonna fangirl over anything nail related.
Great review! Had to agree, the first reason why I read this book was because of the cover, such a beauty! And the story was really good, although in my opinion I'd prefer the Chemical Garden trilogy. I loved Basil too! Unlike other YA books that focuses on love triangles and jerks, I loved that this book had a real relationship.
ReplyDeleteYour nails looks amazing! I think they really match that beautiful cover :D
Thank you so much! Basil is the perfect boyfriend.
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